N338bn bailout: Benue, Imo diverted funds - ICPC report

Benue and Imo states allegedly diverted money meant for the payment of workers’ salaries. This is according to a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which monitored how states spent the N338bn bailout fund given to them by the Federal Government.

ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta

The report was signed by Mustapha Hussain on behalf of the Commissioner, Public Enlightenment. It was released on Friday in Abuja.

It will be recalled that Buhari had last year approved the sum of N338bn for 27 states that were unable to pay salaries. Some of the states had been unable to pay over 10 months’ salary arrears and pensions.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who heads the National Economic Council, had explained that the loan is repayable at an interest rate of nine per cent over a 20-year period and it is “solely for the purpose of paying the backlog of salaries.”

However, the report  issued by the ICPC on Friday showed that Benue and Imo states were found wanting, while a few other states were found to still be owing salaries, an indication that the funds may have been mismanaged.

The report comes less than a month after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Dr. Pascal Obi and two others — Uzoho Casmir and Iheoma Kenneth — who were described by the EFCC as the director of finance and treasurer respectively.

The fresh report by the ICPC states that, “Imo State applied for and received bailout funds of N26, 806, 430, 000.00 from the Central Bank of Nigeria which were domiciled with two commercial banks namely Fidelity and Zenith banks. In the course of analysis, it was discovered that some transfers were made into certain Imo State Government accounts which are not related to salaries and emoluments are as follows: N2bn paid into a Government Account; N2bn into an Imo State Project account; N2bn transferred into microfinance bank; and a management fee of N21, 017, 810.00 was paid into an unspecified account.”

According to the report, Benue State received over N12bn that was meant for the payment of salaries but mysteriously paid over N70m into the account of the Office of the Deputy Governor.

The report states, “In Benue State, the total debt accrued from staff salaries and emoluments amounted to N12, 503, 439, 787. 48. The state received N12, 503, 439, 787.48 as bailout fund and disbursed N10, 852, 536, 702.96 with a balance of N1, 650, 903, 084.52. Analysis of the documents submitted revealed a double payment of N37, 760, 000.00 in favour of the Office of the Deputy Governor. This double payment is presently being investigated.”

In the case of Osun State, the ICPC stated that the state received N34.9bn as bailout and it disbursed N16.3bn. However, the report adds that the commission is investigating allegations that the state had not paid salaries since July 2015.

“The commission is verifying allegations that Osun State public servants have only been paid salaries up to July 2015,” the report states.

The media aide to Osun State Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, when contacted said he could not speak where he was and asked our correspondent to send him a text.

Replying the text, Okanlawon wrote, “The story that Punch should be interested in is, what has become of all those petitions when their petitioners are asked to come  forward to substantiate their petitions?

“Punch should find out and report to the world what is ICPC’s rating of Aregbesola in handling of Osun finances and not only about bailout. If anything, Aregbesola would be awarded medals for prudent and creative  managment of meagre resources to achieve the greatest good for the greatest  number of the Osun people.

“What Punch should tell the world is the motive of the faceless petitioners who when called to defend their claims, vanished. In what way is that different from the usual blackmail all aimed at distracting his government?

“This is not the first time idle hands would claim in the media that have petitioned against Aregbesola. It is all to score cheap political points.”

However, the Consultant to Osun State Government on Information, Mr. Sunday Akere, had said in an interview with our correspondent that the allegation that the governor diverted the bailout fund was baseless.

He said this in a reaction to the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party that the governor diverted the fund.

Akere said the state government used the bailout for the purpose it was meant while challenging the opposition party to seek clarification from the workers.

He said, “The PDP in Osun does not merit any response. They issue releases just to let the people out there know that they are still around. They are doing this to draw attention to themselves.

“They always display their ignorance despite  that they have moles in the system.  They should ask their moles . The bailout covered December 2014 to June 2015 and we have paid these. Pension was not part of the bailout and despite this, we paid pensioners.”

However, the Osun State chapter of the APC in a statement issued  by its spokesperson, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, last  Wednesday appealed to the Federal Government to give the state and others having difficulties in paying their workers a fresh bailout.

The statement read,  “We are therefore appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government to help the affected states out of this crisis.

“We are approaching an emergency on this crisis, because not only is the crisis spreading like wild fire across states, it is assuming a dimension that would seriously affect the economy of the country.”

“To avoid an emergency that could create difficulties for the economy in the next decade, the Federal Government must address the problem now, even it means having recourse to our reserves.

“What was cynically thought to be an Osun problem is now suddenly a national emergency which the Federal Government can ill afford to ignore.

‘We cannot play the ostrich in a situation as critical as this.

“Those politicians who only few months ago were mocking the state of Osun and cynically offering their salaries to pay workers in Osun have suddenly become quiet now that their own states are owing between six and 10 months’ salaries, especially in Bayelsa.”

N338bn bailout: Benue, Imo diverted funds - ICPC report

Another 14-yr-old Benue girl abducted in Sokoto

MAKURDI— Relations of another missing 14-year-old girl, Patience Paul, have alleged that the primary six pupil of Mohammed Zako Model Primary School, Sokoto, may have been abducted and housed at the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto.

Father of the girl, Mr. Paul Adaji, an indigene of Ochobo in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State, told Vanguard on phone that his daughter had been missing since August 12, 2015.

Adaji, who resides in Sokoto with his family, alleged that some persons spotted his daughter at the Sultan’s palace.

He said: “We got information that she was in the Sultan’s palace and the last time we went there, we did not find her.” When asked how they knew she was at the palace, he said: “Some people told us that they saw her at the palace.

They also used to camp some of them there, that was why we went to the palace to see if she has been taken there.

“Even her friend, who used to be a Christian, was found there. She was taken there and they converted her. “We will still continue to search for her.

We will not give up; we only want the world to help us so that our daughter can be released to us.” Brother’s story Corroborating Mr. Adaji’s story, his son, Paul Isaac Adaji, gave an account of circumstances that led to the disappearance of his sister.

He said: “Patience is my younger sister. We are based in Sokoto. That is where the issue occurred. My dad is in Sokoto but we lost our mother two years ago. My younger sister was brain-washed from school, Mohammed Zako Model Primary school, Sokoto.

She is a primary six pupil. “The fact is that sometime last year, we noticed she started keeping some funny friends and her attitude started changing. This is a girl that normally likes attending church activities. “We cautioned her but along the line, she changed. Then again, she started misbehaving. So at that point, my parent and I decided to move her out of Sokoto and return her to Benue State so the rumours of children converting does not happen to us as we do not have anybody to fight for us.

“Unfortunately, what we were scared of later happened to us. Sometimes we will see her returning from school with a veil covering her head. When we inquired, she said it was given to her by her friend in school.

“We cautioned her on several occasions. But we later arranged with my dad to get her back to Benue. Unfortunately, she got to know about our plan to send her back to Benue and obviously informed the people who were brainwashing her and they eventually abducted her.

“When we could not see her, we started serious investigation and along the line, discovered that it was one of our neighbours who actually abducted her.

Hisbah takes over “We reported the matter to the police. The masterminds of her abduction were invited by the Police. They made their confessions that the girl wanted to join their religion, which was why they abducted her. They said they took her to the Hisbah (Islamic Police).

“At that point, the Police invited the Hisbah and they came and gave their own statement. They said they had taken the girl to the Sultan’s palace. I was hoping that since the police had stepped in, my sister would come home.

“But that did not happen. I reported the matter at the Police Headquarters in Sokoto, but it was transferred to our Area Division. So after the interrogations, the Police said since I reported the matter at the headquarters, their findings will also be communicated to the headquarters.

“Two weeks later, I went to the police headquarters here in Sokoto only for the police to tell us that we should just go and maintain peace. I became inquisitive and wanted to know what the police found that prompted that advice. Bishop Kukah steps in

“It was at that point that I reported the matter to Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah. He was very angry with us, saying we ought to have reported the matter to him earlier.

“He made some calls and promised to step into the matter. I became restless and worried because the Bishop is a very busy person. We are urging and pleading with all well-meaning Nigerians to help us intervene. “From what we gathered, from last year up to early this year, she was in the Sultan’s palace, but she has been taken away from there since last month.

“‘We went there with my other sister to check and they brought a different person to us. From our investigations, she is not the only one because the two girls they brought did not look like real Muslims.”

Meanwhile, calls to Bishop Kukah to find out the veracity of claims that the matter was reported to him at a point were not responded to. Source confirm palace connection However, a source in Sokoto told Vanguard that the girl was actually abducted and kept at the Sultan’s palace.

The source also noted that the teenager was not the only person abducted and hidden at the palace, adding that three other girls were in the palace.

The source said: “What is happening is not new; it is a common occurrence in Sokoto and Katsina. Christian teenage girls are often abducted and hidden in such places.

“Patience is not the only victim. Three other girls were found to have been abducted and kept at the palace. There is an Ibo girl among the three.”

Reacting to the development yesterday, Sokoto State Commissioner of Police, Salisu Fagge, said: “It is not true. I have not received such report from anybody.

We relate very well with the palace and Bishop Kukah and such report has never come to me. “If we had got it, we would have taken prompt action. Please ask the man to see me in the office without delay if what he is saying is true.”

Another 14-yr-old Benue girl abducted in Sokoto

Dismiss APC’s petition - Mark asks tribunal

PARTIES to the election petition challenging the re- election of the former Senate President and Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, David Mark yesterday adopted and closed their written addresses with counsel to Mark asking the tribunal to dismiss the petition.

Comrade Daniel Onjeh of the All Progressive Congress (APC) had petitioned against Senator Mark at the National Assembly Tribunal Sitting in Makurdi alleging massive irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

Onjeh’s counsel argued that in the instant petition, there is no evidence of holding or collation in 107 polling units spread across the senatorial district where Form EC8A (1) for the said polling units were produced.

APC and Onjeh’s counsel also submitted further that on the admission of the 1st and 2nd respondents that collation at all levels had ended as at 28th March, 2015, the same date the first respondent was declared winner, the results of seven other local government areas, which were proved to be collated on the 29th of March, 2015 cannot be of the votes upon which the first respondent was returned and urged the tribunal to expunge them and order for fresh election in the affected local councils.

But, arguing on why the petition should be dismissed, counsel to Mark, Mr. Ken Ikkone said the petitioner failed woefully to make out any case against the election of his client and has failed to show the tribunal that the election was not properly conducted.

Ikonne averred that the burden of proof squarely dwells on the petitioner’s failure of which has proved fatal to the petitioner, citing several authorities in support of his submission.

“It is trite in law that he who alleges must prove,” Ikonne stated.

Mark’s counsel further submitted that most of the allegations complained of in the petition are criminal in nature, but the petitioner failed to prove those allegations, stressing that those allegations cannot be severed from the petition as the petitioner was trying to do now, adding that it would amount “to an amendment of the petition, which the petitioner cannot do at this point,” citing the Electoral Act.

Dismiss APC’s petition - Mark asks tribunal

Seven killed in Benue, Oyo clashes

No fewer than five persons have been killed and several villages destroyed in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State during a renewed attack by suspected Fulani militia.

Benue class

Also, two persons died on Monday in a land dispute between rival communities of Lalupon and Erunmu towns in Oyo State.

Investigation by one of our correspondents showed that as of Monday, hundreds of Agatu farmers were displaced from their homes, just as schools and churches were closed to avert further destruction of lives and properties.

The member representing Agatu State Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Alhaji Sule Audu, told newsmen that the heinous attack occurred on Sunday.

Audu said his people were preparing to go to church when the insurgents attacked them.

He maintained that several houses in various communities including the Adeka and Olegadeje villages were destroyed.

The lawmaker added that farmlands and properties were also damaged in the renewed attack.

He, however, appealed to people of the area to remain calm as efforts were on to provide succour for victims and also to fish out the perpetrators. The lawmaker urged the state government to provide relief materials for the displaced persons.

Efforts to speak with the Benue State Police Commissioner Mr. Hyacinth Dagala, proved abortive as he did not pick calls and text messages put across to him by one of our correspondents.

In the Oyo State attack, eyewitnesses said that armed youths from Lalupon and Erunmu communities situated on the outskirts of Ibadan clashed over a parcel of land in the border separating the communities on Friday.

The fight, which continued until Monday, left two people dead and several others injured.

The source said, “A man of Lalupon origin was attacked by youths on Friday evening when he went to plant something that was suspected to be charms on the disputed land. From what I know, the two communities agreed sometimes ago to stay away from the land after years of dispute over its ownership. There was a reprisal by the supporters of the man that was attacked and violence spread in both communities.

“Jamiu Akanji and Wasiu Adeyemi were killed in the attack while many people were injured,” the source added.

Viewed 1 times
Seven killed in Benue, Oyo clashes

Police arrest five suspected kidnappers in Benue

Benue State Police Commissioner, Mr Hyacinth Dagala, has revealed that his command on Wednesday arrested five kidnappers while trying to abduct a teenage girl.

Dagala, in an interview with our correspondent on Thursday in Makurdi, the state capital, said his command had renewed its strategies against criminal elements in the state.

He said, “We arrested five kidnappers yesterday (Wednesday) while trying to abduct a teenage girl and they will be charged to court as soon as preliminary investigations are concluded.”

The Police boss added that he had been working round the clock to purge the state of criminal elements.

He said, “Whoever is a criminal in all its sense, should understand that Benue State is not the place for now and even in future.”

According to him, the command will continue to ensure restrictions of motorbikes in Makurdi metropolis from 7pm to 6am.

He however appealled to the people of the state to continue to cooperate with the Police by giving them timely information that could help them to curtail criminal activities.

It is observed that kidnapping activities in the state has been on the increase in recent times.

Viewed 1 times
Police arrest five suspected kidnappers in Benue

Suspected Fulani militia invade Tiv community, kill six

Despite the spirited efforts of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG, Operations, Michael Zuokumor  led committee to bring to an end the lingering bloody conflict between Tiv farmers/Fulani herders, suspected Fulani militia, Thursday evening invaded Governor Gabriel ‘s home town at Anyii, leaving six persons dead.

Saturday vanguard gathered  that the marauders numbering over 100 also attacked Chembe, Ifer and Tse Gundu, Anawah settlement at Ukemberaga/Tswarev ward of Logo local government area.

One of the fleeing natives told Saturday Vanguard that the invaders launched their attack on the affected communities from two fronts.

According to him, “they came in two groups numbering over hundred; one of the groups came through Ikapa-Tse Gundu road to attack Chembe village while the other group emerged from a far route and bursting out at Achive compound.

”At Achive, they mounted a road block along Anyiin-Wukari road shooting sporadically, forcing the people who had returned to their homes after fleeing previous attacks to scamper into the bush for safety.

”The attackers carried out the operation for several hours killing about six people without molestation despite the supposed presence of security operatives in the area.”

Corroborating the story, the Senior Special Assistant to the state Governor on Media, Chief Anawah Joseph who hails from one of the affected communities said two bodies had so far been recovered from his community.

When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Superintendent Dan Ezeala said the incident was not a Fulani attack but robbery at Chinwe community where he said two corpses were found.

According to Ezeala, the information got to the anti terrorists squad stationed in the area who stormed the affected community; “it was discovered that there was no destruction of property, which clearly indicated that it was not a Fulani attack but robbery incident.”

  (0)

Suspected Fulani militia invade Tiv community, kill six